He Is Always There

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  (Hebrews 11:1)

Helen Keller was born in 1880, the daughter of a Confederate Army officer, and a normal healthy child. But at nineteen months of age, she developed a serious illness that left her unable to hear or see. Her formative years were difficult, with no practical connection to the outside world. She lived in a world of silence and darkness with no ability to communicate except through tantrums and fits of rage. At the age of six she was deemed incorrigible with no hope for a normal life; after all, without eyes and ears, how could she possibly thrive? Helen was not going to make it. That was virtually impossible.

But with God everything is possible. He sent a remarkable young woman into Helen’s life, someone acutely aware of the difficulties of the deaf and blind, a teacher named Anne Sullivan. “The Teacher” worked with Helen and taught her to communicate with her hands. She started by using her own fingers to draw the letters W-A-T-E-R in the palm of one of the child’s hands while holding the other under a spigot of flowing water. And it worked. Helen made the connection. Her education began.

Helen soon learned the English language and became proficient at reading Braille. She learned to communicate with others, to type, and even to write. Against all odds, she went to college, earned a bachelor’s degree, and then made a successful career as an author, lecturer, and esteemed political activist. In short, Helen made a profound difference in her life, and she did it all without ever having seen or heard the world around her.

As I consider the life of Helen Keller, I am reminded of the difficult challenges that face anyone desiring a close walk with God. We can’t see Him, we can’t hear His voice, and yet it is still possible for us to know Him intimately. To understand how He thinks and to comprehend His will. But how? If we can’t see him, how do we know he’s there? If we can’t hear him, how do we know he’s real? Well, of course, the answer is faith. To trust what we cannot see or hear. To listen for God’s quiet voice and to search for his face with our minds.

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“Once I knew only darkness and stillness… my life was without past or future… but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.”

–Helen Keller

Pat Patterson

Pat is a writer, a paramedic, and a medical educator. Married to Kim for 40 years, he's also the proud father of two sons and grandfather of six. Although mostly retired now, he teaches and consults part-time, working with his hands when he can and seeking to lead a quiet life. (I Thes. 4:11) But Pat's true passion is writing, crafting tales inspired by his experiences – gritty, colorful, and rife with adventure and anguish, yet always carrying a moral that leads to a Gospel truth. He's walked the waters, ventured into the woods, and been on the streets, cradling the dying in his arms, grappling with enough grief to darken any man's soul. By God's grace, he emerged from the darkness and found a new light. Pat was once asked, "Why do you write?" His answer was straightforward: "I’m a writer. And an old friend once told me, writers write. So, I write." Pat has authored several books, including Answering the Call, a devotional collection, and two novels, Paramedic Killer and Tested by Fire.

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